Bystander CPR Event at RFR

President/Broker/Sales Manager, Andy Fazendin has always wanted to offer a CPR class for agents and staff at Roger Fazendin REALTORS®. He and the Director of Business Development, Shelly Halverson attended a Wayzata Rotary meeting, where Andy is a Rotarian and they were offering a bystander CPR class. They participated in the training and received a card saying they had completed the CPR Anytime Course. The training was offered by the Plymouth Rotary Club. They have made it their mission to train as many people as possible. We asked if they would like to come to Roger Fazendin REALTORS® and train our agents and staff.

We coordinated a date and on June 30, 2014, the volunteers from Plymouth Rotary came to do our training. We had over 30 agents and staff members participate! The session started with a personal story from Norm Okerstrom about how CPR saved the life of his son during a football practice at Wayzata High School. Everyone was touched by the story and even more interested in learning. We watched videos, heard instruction and then we all got to practice. The Plymouth Rotary had all the practice manikins and even knee pads. 100 compressions a minute, pushing at least 2 inches in the chest with the heel of your hands was a lot more work than everyone expected! We all got a work out – but we did learn a fun trick – sing the song “Staying Alive” and that is about the tempo the compressions should be. You should have seen us singing and pushing. We talked about tag teaming and helping one another out, so that you get a rest. We even practiced using an AED (automated external defibrillator) and did role playing directing people to call 911 and to get the AED while doing chest compressions. Roger Fazendin REALTORS® is fortunate to have an AED on site and it is registered with the Minnetonka Fire Department.

Everyone agreed this was a worthwhile meeting and were very glad to gain knowledge to be able to help if someone is ever in need. A huge thank you from RFR to the Plymouth Rotary and to the people who came to train us; David Wymore, Nancy Monti, Steve Beachler and Russ Carlson. If you are interested in more information about this CPR training initiative with the Plymouth Rotary, visit www.rotaryplymouth.org.